A former worker at a Dadar sweet shop hit his employer with an iron rod and robbed him of Rs 2 lakh on Saturday
While sweet shops spread the cheer and joy everywhere during Diwali and do roaring business, one particular owner lost money. The reason? He had refused a job to an ex-employee, and the lost chance of earning some more during the festive season drove the man to crime.
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Suhas Chanderkar, the 68-year-old owner of Chanderkar Sweets in Dadar (West) was robbed of Rs 2 lakh on Saturday. The incident occurred around 9 pm, when Chanderkar was on Dnyan Mandir Road in Dadar. He was taking home the day’s earnings in a bag, when someone hit him with an iron rod and took away the cash. The owner was unconscious for two days in his home.
When he woke up, the Worli resident lodged a complaint at the Shivaji Park police station. Police officials started checking the whereabouts of his employees and their call detail records (CDR). While going through the records of the Dadar store manager Subodh Shinde, the police found that the manager had been getting calls from a new number for the past three days. The owner, however, didn’t suspect Shinde, who had been working with him for the past 16 years.
The number belonged to Tejas Sonawane (22), a temporary worker who was employed last Diwali to meet the huge demand for sweets. “Sonawane would come and work at the shop, for which the owner paid good money,” said Dhananjay Kulkarni, deputy commissioner of police, Zone V.
Sonawane had wanted to come this year too, but Chanderkar was not in favour of taking him back. The police learnt that after the rejection, the ex-employee had been asking the manager about the whereabouts of the owner. On the night of the robbery, he wanted to know the time Chanderkar had left the shop and whether someone was with him. The manager, who did not realise Sonawane’s motives, gave him all the information.
Officials picked up Sonawane yesterday who confessed to having committed the crime. The former worker wanted to come back to work with the shop at Diwali, but Chanderkar had refused. On being denied the opportunity to earn some extra money, Sonawane planned the robbery. He revealed that he bought a mobile phone and clothes with the robbed sum. “We have also arrested his friends Nikhil Kurshar, Rupesh Mistry and Prashant Chalke, who accompanied him for the robbery and distributed the share among themselves,” said Deep Bane, PSI, Shivaji Park police station.u00a0